Books are often accused these days of being “over-written”, but rarely, if ever, “under-written”. Brevity and concision, even to the point of sparseness, seem to be valued for their own sake, and, if my forays around the net are anything to go by, “could have done with an editor” is a frequent criticism – as [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Melville’
27 Feb
Still puzzled by “Moby-Dick”…
I have been delaying putting down my thoughts on Moby-Dick, as I wanted to allow some time to let it settle in my mind. Well, it’s been a few weeks since I finished it, and it hasn’t settled yet. I doubt it ever will. It is unlike any other novel I know of. At times, [...]
15 Jan
Bartleby the Scrivener, and Billy Budd, Sailor
Please note: The following contains “spoilers” for both “Bartleby the Scrivener” and Billy Budd, Sailor. But since the actual plotlines of these works seem to me among their less interesting aspects, knowing them beforehand is unlikely to detract from the experience of reading these works. Before tackling that monster Moby-Dick, I thought it best to [...]
